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Fear of the Great Unknown

There’s nothing to fear but fear itself, right?! It seems in this day in age, as technology becomes more and more intertwined in our lives, we forget, dare I say fear, the great outdoors. The great unknown. There is so much beyond our front doors, beyond our screens, if we only took a minute to put our phones and ipods away to look and listen.

This is what we try to accomplish at Earth Native Wilderness School-to connect, even reconnect people to the outdoors in a variety of ways, whether it be survival skills, circling around a campfire and singing songs with a dozen children, studying bird language or just playing in the mud with a group of toddlers. At Earth Native, we remind people that magic and mystery do not only lie in the next episode of your favorite television show, or the newest version of a video game. Instead, we help to show people, young and old, the endless beauty and wonder that exists right outside your door!

Many people find nature to be a bit daunting. Understandable! We share this great state of Texas with a handful of varieties of venomous snakes, biting fire ants, and flora that can be pretty formidable. But, back to the ‘fear factor’, a wise person once said, ‘nothing is to be feared; it is only to be understood.’ We see this in our programs every day, from adults picking up their first hatchet to make a bow, to children as young as six letting a spider crawl on their arm. As Earth Native instructors facilitate these experiences, pushing peoples edges in a healthy and positive way, these individuals grow in their understanding, and appreciation of things they initially feared.

For example, our plant classes teach people that extremely annoying, uncomfortable, sometimes painful prickly pear cactus could actually save your life one day, with the food it provides and the water it stores. Those ‘weeds’ we see growing in and around our beautiful manicured lawns might actually be the edible cucumber plant, which tastes like, well, cucumber! And those pesky persimmon trees yield delicious fruit that can make equally delicious jams and pies. A growing understanding of our plant life can deliver quite rich results, if we give it a chance!

Sometimes fear is a healthy emotion; it helps us draw boundaries, can even save our life. We must learn to discern between healthy fears, and fears that inhibit our ability to thrive. Let Earth Native help you and your children to push your edges, learn new skills and become empowered. We do what we do because we’ve been there, we’ve pushed our edges, and we’ve come out as stronger, more capable, and more connected beings on this great planet. Come on out and try for yourself. Check us out at earthnativeschool.com… Don’t be scared.